Chapter 36: Taking it to the Water
"Fever down, heart rate normal. No signs of heavy congestion…" Breathing with relief, Lunalei's dad took off his stethoscope and got off his daughter's bed, "The flu seems to have passed."
Lunalei laid further back into her pillow and was overjoyed, "Ooooh, finally! Four days sick, that's really going to cut into my pay for this month."
"Don't worry about that. I'll cover the time lost." Her dad said without hesitating.
Lunalei was thrown back by his gesture of kindness, "D-Dad, you don't have to do that. Shit…it's my fault for not submitting PTO."
He shook his head and softly looked into her eyes, "I said don't worry."
"Haaaa…" Lunalei blushed and slid back under her sheets a bit, frustration welling in her mind, "Knowing you, you're going to tell me to stay home one more day just to be safe."
His brief nod ended this conversation, and she was forced to accept being weakened for one more day.
"...Now, I must get back to work. Your mom will be home to handle the rest." He turned and started to head out the door when his way was blocked by Xander, cuddling up against the door frame like he thought he was a ninja.
The two let out a light chuckle as he poked himself out and asked, "Can I see her now?"
Their dad ruffled his hair and smiled, "You should be fine."
"Yay!" Xander ran through the door and jumped on his sister's bed, causing her to expunge a cough.
"I'm glad you're not feeling cruddy anymore, big sis!" He said while feverishly climbing closer to her.
"I-I'm glad too, but slow your roll buddy…You still got to go to school today. You definitely don't want to catch what I got."
"I'll never get sick!" Was a bold, yet surprisingly substantiated claim for a ten year old.
Still, Lunalei brushed the back of her hand out and said with a smile, "If you let me rest, we can play during the weekend."
"Ok!" Xander's declaration secured their promise, as much as Lunalei didn't want to resort to such measures given how far behind she was on work, both during the day and at night.
Once he sprinted out of the room, their mom took her place, giggling at the energy of their little boy.
She then stood under the doorframe and leaned in with her hands behind her back, "I heard the good news! How's your legs feeling?"
"Let's see…" Lunalei pushed off her sheets and tried to stand on the floor, only for her knees to crack like crackers.
"Ghhh…! Yep, feel like shit!" She jumped right back into bed gritting her teeth in pain.
Her mom clapped her hands and proclaimed, "Well! Sounds like the order of business should be plenty of milk, and some light leg exercises!"
"Mggggh…" Lunalei groaned over even needing to bother with that crap in the first place.
And her distress got her mom asking immediately, "Alright, sounds like you need to get something off your mind, honey. Spill it."
Her gentle pressure made Lunalei first stare up at the ceiling, then grab onto the ends of her bedsheets, "...Why couldn't I have been born with a super healthy god body like yours?"
Her mom gently itched the side of her face while holding onto her best smile, "Ah, that. Iiiii…still can't explain any of that. BUT…! I don't think it's as big of a deal as you're making it out to be."
Lunalei frowned tightly as her counterargument.
Her mom then said, "You didn't need to inherit anything from us to stand out, Lunalei. You're a very smart and passionate young woman."
Lunalei lingered on her compliments with her cheeks getting rosier over time. Then she squeezed her eyes shut and remarked, "...I know you're just saying that…but you're right."
She then turned her head and let her appreciation slip out, "Thanks mom."
"A-ny-time!" Her mom gave a peace sign and then with an embarrassed giggle, left the room to help get her daughter something to feel better.
Lunalei then took a deep breath and relaxed into her bed, "One more day until I can go back to work…I hope that sub hasn't derailed things too poorly in my absence."
Meanwhile…
"Hey everyone, great news!" Claire announced to her class frame one of entering the room.
"I got permission from the principal to give you guys a niiiice, breezy day off. You know, as a reward for being the top class in the school!"
The class was stunned to learn this, with one of the various students even pointing out, "But didn't we just get off winter break?"
Claire went on to say, "Yeeeeah, but between the divide in opinions lately because of your teacher's absence, and my own guilt over causing a ruckus…I just wanted to make sure you guys get a chance to destress until she gets back."
Another student gladly got out of their chair and shouted, "Well hell yeah! I'll take it!"
He bolted out of the classroom as free as a bird, the echoes of his "WOHOO!" being heard for a while after.
"..." Claire then put her foot down hard to freeze a few other happy-go-lucky students in their tracks, "Beeeeefore anyone else jumps like a jackrabbit out the door, I thought you'd like to know that on top of awarding you a day off, I also got the pool open for today! Just for everyone in this class."
It didn't elicit the cries of joy she was expecting.
"Won't we get hypothermia afterwards?" A female student said, raising her hand.
Claire countered, "Oh no, it's an indoor pool! Plus, you'll have plenty of time to dry off!"
"And what about swimsuits?" Someone else remarked.
"I took the liberty of ordering some perfectly fitting one-pieces for all the girls, and trunks for the guys!" Claire said, never losing her pep.
"But the-"
"The water will be chlorine free too!" That last comment really put the nail in the coffin for the majority of the class.
Within a half an hour, Class 207 had vacated the classroom and entered the pool building to enjoy some much needed R&R.
Even anyone who wasn't up to swimming enjoyed sitting on the bleachers and taking in the freshwater air.
Claire was sticking around in her normal clothes, acting as the lifeguard for these rowdy kids.
Up on the bleachers, Leo decided to just sit back and enjoy some music, catch up on a bit of homework, and in-between both review a book he had been slowly chipping away at.
Zelene had scaled up to his side the moment she entered the building, no doubt relieved that swimming wasn't a mandatory thing.
Leo temporarily plucked out his earphones and sighed, "A pity Lyra is in a different class. Otherwise I would have invited her over."
He turned and saw Zelene hyperfocusing on Claire with a glare. After waving his hand in front of her face to pull her attention, he asked, "Are you still worried about her?"
"I DON'T like it," Zelene firmly enunciated, the two watching as their substitute trotted along the pool's edge with a weightlessness to her steps, "She's acting WAY too different from the first couple of days."
Leo didn't want to risk throwing out the "P" word to describe her thoughts, thus he instead said quietly, "I don't sense anything different from her aura."
"Your senses can be wrong, Leo." Zelene said in a huff.
"Even identical twins have differences." Leo pointed out.
"Yeah, well…I can see things YOU can't." Zelene asserted, and the growing annoyance in her tone essentially told him that trying to convince her was fruitless.
He then took a deep breath and suggested, "Can I perhaps convince you to enjoy some music with me to distract you?"
Cause the only other alternative was swimming, and again, there was no way she was going to be within 100 feet of a swimsuit.
Zelene closed her eyes and then took her own deep breath upon extending her hand towards him, "S-Sure…"
Leo pulled out a spare set of wireless headphones and handed them over.
As they were preparing to listen to music, Bang climbed out of the pool and let out a whistle so sharp it was like he was a lifeguard himself, "YO! Bro! What're you doing up there? The water's BANGING!"
Leo had to gently put down his expectations by reminding him, "Sorry, but all the athleticism in the family went to my sister."
Bang hung his hand and moaned, "Awwww, come on! I can totally teach you!"
Leo could only imagine that either his attempts would lead to some awkward interactions, or him coughing up water by the end of the day.
"No thanks. You enjoy your time to the fullest, Bang." Leo then closed his eyes, content that he was able to let him off easily.
"Eh, your loss, bro!" Bang said sincerely, "Speaking of your gym nut sis, I'm stunned she's avoiding here!"
For a brief moment, there was a hint of regret in his eyes, "Almost kinda miss her…"
"HEEEY! I'M HERE!" And that sharp pitched announcement of her arrival caused Bang to pitch a fit internally and clench his teeth.
Leo saw his sister waltz into the building already sweating, with Damian close behind, having barely just got over his cold.
She, as expected, threw away common sense and decided she was going to just swim in her sports bra and shorts.
Bang threw his thumbs up and squealed, "Greeeat! YOU'RE here!"
Serra waved her hand at him and shouted, "Heeeey! Haven't seen you a hot minute!"
And then routine followed, "Can I join the team now?"
Bang's face reddened like he was ready to pop a vessel, "N-"
Leo then looked at him for a moment, and to his surprise watched as Bang looked at him back and then took a deep breath.
He then put his big burly hands on his hips and remarked, "No…the season's over, bro. Sorry, ain't nothing I can do."
Serra blinked a few times, "Awww, bummer! Maybe next year then!"
Bang's expression crashed into the most cartoonish look of disbelief anyone ever witnessed as Serra simply walked back to Damian, helped him up, and didn't say another word.
"That easy…?!" Bang squeaked.
Leo gave him a thumbs up for approval, but he kept reeling from the encounter for a while.
Leo then braced himself in a shelter of classical music, for he could sense shenanigans would soon be afoot in the quiet pool building.
It started with Serra trotting Damian up into the bleachers to say hello and get some hydration in them.
"H-Hey…" Damian waved his hand up to his friends before taking a water bottle from Serra and filling up.
Leo took a glance his way and wondered, "Look at you, getting back into the thick of things. But shouldn't you wait another day?"
"C'mon Leo, even you have to know a good sweat burns out the remaining germs…" Damian remarked, a point that wasn't really up for debate.
Though Leo suspected that he wasn't in it for that reason, but rather to make up for lost time with a good 'friend'.
Serra then turned to the others, focused on Zelene, and told her, "Hey! You should join us in the water, Zelly!"
Zelene's lips smeared into an ugly frown as her eyes were cast under a dead looking shadow, "NO."
"Awww, c'mon! You look like you could swim a few laps quickly!"
Leo cut his hand across the front of his neck, "No means no, sister."
Serra was disappointed, but recovered naturally fast. She then patted Damian on the back just as he was about to swallow the last bit of water and started heading down to the pool, "Alright, Buddy! Looks like it's just you and me!"
"Khhh…khh…! R-Roger!" Damian dropped the water bottle and then went after her.
Leo then sighed and resumed listening to his music alongside Zelene, who quietly told him with a bit of annoyance lingering in her voice, "Thanks…"
He nodded, and then looked out towards the doors.
And right on cue, they swung open and out walked Erin. Even by Claire's own admission of seeking out perfectly fitting swimsuits, Erin's still looked a little tight on her.
She caught a few eyes in the swimming pool, but she didn't give them any attention back directly despite loving the admiration she was receiving.
No, her goal was to march straight to the edge of the pool, her brother haplessly dragging his feet behind her, and thrust her finger at the sole object of her attention.
"Alright, cuz!" She shouted, freezing Serra in her tracks mid-diving posture.
Erin wagged her finger back and smirked, "This time…I AM going to beat you!"
By now the announcement of a competition only caused the students in the pool to turn the other way and groan, weakly attempting to continue their fun.
"Are you joking?! The pool's ours! Go do your thing elsewhere!" One of the students bravely stood up to Erin's nonsense, and for that she turned her full attention on to them with her commanding, bossy tone and glared.
"Oh I am GOING to have my match, and I AM going to have my victory, even if I have to pluck all of you out of the pool by hand!"
Serra grinned excitedly and pumped her fists, "We haven't had a swimming competition yet! Ok! Bring it on, Pal-in!"
Damian threw his hands up and stood between them, gulping about…maybe half of his hesitation before bringing up, "T-This is silly, Serra! I know you. You'll get fired up, and before you know it, you'll somehow paddle the whole pool empty!"
Serra blinked and ended up being receptive to his concerns a little, "Oh yeah, then you wouldn't be able to enjoy yourself!"
Erin overheard this exchange and threw herself upright with a scoff, "Ah…! Are you seriously listening to him, cuz?! I did NOT put on this stuffy ass one-piece just for you to…"
She then smiled with sinister intent, slowing her roll down long enough to lay the back of her hand below her smirk and remark calmly, "Chicken out…"
Serra perked up, her ears giving a little wiggle as her smile spread joyously, "Me? No way!"
The students in the pool collectively filled the building with a groan and already motioned to leave the water.
Claire clapped her hands along with her footsteps, "Alright, alright. I get the feeling I'm missing some context…"
As Bang was the first to leave the pool, he was also the first to answer, "Recap, teach. Blue-hair over there's a menace. She's dominated every sports club you can name."
Claire looked over her shoulder and gasped, "Even the Rugby team?"
Bang raised his brows and whispered to himself, "The fuck's a Rugby?"
He then pointed at Erin, "As for THIS fine lady-"
Alex turned and glared at him with a growl that carried very little bite, while Erin rolled her eyes and yawned.
"-she's always challenging her. And losing."
"Oooooh, family grudge!" Claire understood pretty much right away, "I mean, we should all try to get along, buuuut…"
After stepping between the two she gestured her hands out and remarked, "Then I'd be missing out on the competition of the ages!"
Before yet ANOTHER collective groan filled the building, Claire clapped her hands together again and remarked, "We'll do this on ONE condition. You guys have your fun, and then let everyone else have theirs!"
"Pffft, easy." Erin admitted.
"I'm down!" Serra proclaimed.
Damian, defeated, retreated into the bleachers to play the role of cheerleader once again.
Leo told him, "I should've warned you this was coming."
"I should've known better." Damian grumbled and pressed his hands against his cheeks.
Claire then passed up Erin and pointed at her face, "You got the smarts, girl, now let's see your skills!"
She winked, and Erin grinned and flexed her knuckles a bit, "Oh, I GOT them in spades!"
She then thrust her finger out to Serra doing stretches to proclaim, "And this day's going to end with the definitive proof that I'm the best in the school, Serra!"
Serra paused and smiled at her, "Best of luck then, Pal-in!"
Erin slacked her jaw in annoyance and drooped her arm. Alex then told her, "Best of luck, sis."
"Yeah yeah…" Erin said dully, getting to the front of the pool alongside her cousin, as Claire stood on by to set the rules.
"Alrighty! You two are so tough, we're going to make this a ten lap race. Swim to the other side and back, you know the rest."
Claire took a couple steps back as competitive sparks flew from the cousins eyes, "Oooh, spicy!"
She then clapped her hands with a grin, "And go!"
The two dove into the pool in sync and started swimming vigorously towards the other side.
The crowd did cheer on the competition a little bit since heck, might as well while they wait for their chance to go back in.
The support weighed more heavily in favor of Serra though, but this time she seemed to be falling behind a bit.
Her family kept to the bleachers and gave their support, albeit with Leo and Zelene absorbed into their music for the most part.
When Alex arrived beside them like a silent shadow, the first thing he mentioned post-sigh was, "Say, I'm not the only one who finds the substitute suspicious, am I?"
Zelene turned and gave a hard nod.
Damian commented, "Suspicious? Her? You're gonna have to debrief me. I wasn't here for the first few days."
Leo bit into this topic despite wanting to avoid it, "Ok Alex. Let's hear your point of view."
Alex rubbed the back of his head, "I don't know how to describe her…ummm…she seems morally sound on the surface. But when I got near her, uhhh…my hairs started to stand on end, and they felt cold."
"Erin obviously wouldn't come out and admit it, but I saw goosebumps on her skin."
Damian turned with a mildly weirded out look in his eyes, "Why were you that close to her skin?"
Alex glared out the corner of his eye and got defensive, "Is that important? I'm just saying what I observed."
Leo paused to wait for Damian to get distracted by Serra to lean in and whisper to Alex, "I get your concern, but like I told Zelene, I sensed nothing off from her aura."
Alex murmured back, "You got your sixth sense, and I got mine."
He then tugged his teeth along his lower lip and leaned back, "She's a nice lady, I hope you're right, Leo. But if the water turns out to be intoxicated, and Erin gets sick…I am SO going to kick you in the knees."
"Noted." Leo said with the grace to back off and see how his sister was doing.
They seem to have burned through over half the laps, and Serra was falling a little behind.
Damian shouted, "How is she losing?"
Leo noted, "You DID tell her to hold back."
Zelene chimed in with a bit of bluntness, "L-Leo. Think about what you just said."
Damian stood up and shouted, "Come on! You can do it, Serra!"
Leo had to burst his bubble, "She can't hear you with all the splashing."
Damian winced awkwardly.
Leo then pulled back to think it over, "Though…how IS she losing?"
"Duh," Alex actually showed initiative in reminding his relatives why he's only second only to his sister in intelligence, "Muscle actually causes greater water resistance due to it being heavier."
Zelene muttered, "So the cow…"
Alex perked up in a slightly offended tone, "Pardon me?"
Zelene finished the rest of her sentence looking the other way.
Damian turned to Serra's defense, "Yeah, but Serra's the better swimmer!"
Alex scoffed, "Yeah sure thing, pal. We used to live in a place with an indoor pool. Serra was probably stuck playing along to the season's tunes."
Damian bit his lower lip and instead of fighting him on this, turned and shouted again, "GO SERRA!"
The last lap came before anyone knew it, and Serra pushed herself just a little bit harder with that stamina she had been saving up until this point.
It came down to the wire and really, everyone knew that Serra was going to pull out a clutch victory.
The water stopped flying from their fleet feet and when the hands came down…
It was Erin who pulled herself out of the pool first!
Gasps exited the audience's mouths and in the vacuum of silence that followed, Erin widened her eyes and turned around to see Serra pulling herself up after her.
Erin trembled and then hunched back, clenching her fists and pumping them at the sky, "Yesyesyes! I FINALLY DID IT! I'm the best!"
Damian slumped to the bench and gawker, "No way…"
Serra stared blankly at her cousin, but then smiled and started to raise her thumb, "You did gre-"
Claire grabbed her arm and lifted it up high, "The winner is Serra!"
"Eh?!" Serra's eyes turned blank, while Erin froze in her gloating pose and turned beet red.
"BULLSHIT!" She shouted, throwing her hands down and matching towards the teacher throwing inflammatory accusations at her, "Get your glasses checked, reddy. I got back first!"
Claire let go and folded her arms under her chest, leaning into a cocksure posture before happily telling her the harsh truth, "I thought you didn't need to know the rules. CLEARLY I underestimated you."
She pointed to the other end of the pool, "You're supposed to tap the end before you turn around. But you didn't."
As Erin's eyes widened with embarrassment, the whispers and giggles of fellow students turned her face red.
Serra, being her cheery self, remarked in a well meaning way, "Aw, you just let it slip your mind. I still almost lost! Good work!"
Erin slanted her brows and then shocked the audience by grabbing Claire by both sides of her vest and picking her up.
Alex covered his face and groaned, "Really, Erin?"
Erin glared Claire in the eyes and a hint of dark red light flickered from her eyes and around her body like a broken light, "You won't take this away. This is MINE!"
Claire smiled and giggled as goosebumps rose on her skin, "Oooh, scary. Hey hotshot, you took this from yourself. I've never even seen Olympic champs swim as fast as you. But I guess it's true what they say."
Claire flashed a smug look, "Talent and confidence ain't a bundle deal."
Erin flared her eyes and growled with a demonic reverb, "Silence, fraud!"
Erin pulled back and dropped Claire, then with her face still flushed she ran out the building.
Alex scrambled to his feet, bit his lip, then followed after, "Shit…! Erin!"
Claire then stopped the gossiping with a steady clap of her hands, "Ok! Sorry for the drama bomb! You all can go back to swimming now…if you want to…I don't know."
She shrugged and then headed out of the building with a merry trot.
Serra blinked a few times until Damian ran up and patted her on the back, "I knew you could do it!"
He then shyly hopped away, looking at his hand with an agape mouth as Serra looked at him funny.
He hid his hand away, and then she patted him on the back, nearly toppling him off-balance, "Thanks, Buddy! But that was a close call for sure!"
Needless to say, this incident was going to tank Erin's reputation among her peers, and gossip would carry it further along into the school.
Lunalei was going to come back to a much different status quo, that's for damn sure.
…
"Hmmm hm hmm…!" Claire walked and walked until she was at the backside of the school.
"Ha…!" She pulled her pen from her pocket and gave it a twirl and a click, then held it up next to her face with a big smile.
"Heeeey! Hope you're doing well on your time off! Yeeeep, I'm just about wrapped up here. Got a message from the principal this morning telling me that the regular teacher's coming back soon."
Claire pouted and leaned back into the wall, "Not gonna lie, I'm gonna miss these guys."
"Your assessment? Yeah, you're close to the mark as always, sis. I'd give it a 90% chance it's her. Guess we'll get the decisive evidence in our next confrontation."
Claire kicked off the wall with one foot and the trotted along towards the fence, "Hey, I'll bet baguettes to bagels that we'll be facing them again in a few days tops. We'll wrap this up before he tries to steal the glory, and then we can go back to tutoring our special princess."
Claire closed her eyes with a lofty air around her, "Yeah, I know. I won't fumble the ball. Actually, I got a fancy little bonus to REALLY get in the boss' favor."
She teetered on the edge of the fence and looked out to see Erin, all decked up in her motorcycling gear, ready to take off with Alex trying to convince her not to go.
"The Dark twins? There's something funky going on with them. And I think…the boss should try and get them on our side."
"Yeeep…" Claire looked at Erin with a demeaning glance, "Daddy's blackhearted princess has got a chip on her shoulder the size of Europe."
"You'll let him know? Awesome! You're the best, Claire!" Claire? made a kissing noise at the pen and then clicked it off, nonchalantly walking back to the school while whistling a merry tune.
Next Time: A Date with the Moonlight